In the past three weeks, all three of those criteria have been satisfied, however not all because of the reason previously stated.  Yes, we did have a big fight last week.  Yes, my movie quota increased exponentially as a result in the days since then.  Yes, the frequency of my journals have gone down, but mostly because of vacation, and lack of motivation to write.  And finally, yes, I haven’t slept in our bedroom for weeks now, but only because something in the room gives me terrible allergies when I sleep there.

After hitting Target for some reported deals last Thursday, I finally got home around 8:30pm.  However, no one was home, dinner hadn’t been started, and the house was a wreck.  I don’t know if it was a combination of how tired I was feeling, and the fact that Jen had seemed to be more concerned about anything but our family that week (at least that’s the way it seemed to me), but I felt this anger and frustration welling up inside me.  Or maybe it was because I had drunk two Cokes at work that day instead of my usual one.  Whatever the case, I felt upset and more angry than I can remember being for a long, long time.

So what did I do?  You got it.  Pulled out the movie showtimes and off I went.  And just so she knew I was upset, I deliberately waited until Jen started walking home from our neighbor’s house and zoomed past her in the car.  Yes, that was a shnitzy thing to do, I admit.  

So the local bargain “dollar” theater was the proud recipient of a dollar from me Thursday night when I went and saw the Academy Award performance of The Rock in The Scorpion King.  Oh, and since we still hadn’t made up totally by Saturday, they got another dollar from me when I went to go see Panic Room.  With my emotional health in the delicate balance it was in, all I was in the mood for was mind-numbing, non-thought provoking entertainment.  

I guess ultimately I was just feeling neglected.  I know a lot of men probably don’t care about how much affection they receive (or how much affection they dole out for that matter) as long as they are getting enough hoochie-koo.  But I find that *I* really do need lots of touching and cuddling and rubbing and kissing and all that good stuff.  

It is often said that good communication is the cornerstone of a good marriage.  If that's the case, I suppose we really need to work on fortifying that cornerstone with lots of vitamins and nutrients.  Adding some flying buttresses (I love that term) would help as well, I'm sure.

We've definitely had big blowouts in the past, but I definitely think we're getting better at working things out.  At least it seems like the big, intense, arguments-where-we-don't-talk-to-each-other-for-days doesn't seem to occur as often as they used to anymore.  

One thing is for sure, though.  The make-up sex is mind-blowing.  Not that I recommend having a huge argument solely for that reason.